Rolls-Royce\'s CEO explains how his company just set a new all-time record for sales of its ultra-luxury cars

• Rolls-Royce Motor Cars CEO Torsten Müller-ötvös attributes the growth to the arrival of the new eighth-generation flagship Phantom sedan.

On Wednesday, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars reported annual sales of 4,107 vehicles in 2018. It's the most in the ultra-luxury brand's 115-year history.

BMW Group's Goodwood, England-based subsidiary beat out the previous record of 4,063 cars set back in 2014.

This marks a 22% increase over the 3,362 cars "commissioned" by the company's clients in 2017.

Much of the growth was driven by the debut and production ramp-up of the eighth generation of the company's flagship Phantom sedan, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars CEO Torsten Müller-ötvös told Business Insider in an interview on Wednesday.

(Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is not affiliated with Rolls-Royce Holdings plc, which is an aviation engine maker and defense contractor.)

North America remains Rolls-Royce's largest market and accounts for roughly one-third of the company's total sales, Müller-ötvös said.

Europe and Asia each accounted for 20% of worldwide sales. China proved to be a particularly bright spot with a 40% surge in sales in 2018 on the back of strong Phantom and Ghost sedan sales, the CEO explained.

The UK also saw sales jump 10% in spite of economic and political instability.

As for 2019, Müller-ötvös expects Rolls-Royce to have another banner year with full-scale production of the new Cullinan SUV coming online.

According to the company's longtime CEO, the order backlog of the Cullinan has reached the third quarter of 2019 and will be the brand's best selling model.